1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet seat safety devices for preventing the lid of a toilet from being lifted. More particularly, the invention relates to a toilet seat safety device formed from cloth material that covers a substantial portion of a toilet seat lid and securely wraps around and fastens to the rear of the toilet for preventing the toilet seat lid from being lifted while being easy to attach and remove and washable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Unsupervised children sometimes lift the lids on toilet seats and play in the water contained in the toilet bowl. This can be dangerous since the child may fall in the toilet bowl, and is unsanitary even when the child is not harmed. Additionally, children sometimes drop objects such as toys into the toilet bowl, thus losing the objects and clogging the toilet and sewer lines.
Toilet seat restraining devices for preventing children from lifting the lid of a toilet seat are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,558,578 discloses a restraining device that includes a plurality of leather straps that buckle around the toilet seat and toilet bowl for preventing the toilet seat lid from being lifted. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,404,124 and Des. 351,021 disclose similar type toilet seat restraining devices.
Although prior art toilet seat restraining devices effectively prevent the lifting of toilet set lids, they suffer from several limitations that limit their utility. For example, prior art toilet seat restraining devices are difficult to attach and remove because they are typically formed from a plurality of straps that must be wrapped around the toilet and then buckled or snapped together. Additionally, once the straps are removed from the toilet, they often become tangled together, making them difficult to reattach to a toilet.
Another limitation of prior art toilet seat restraining devices is that they are unsightly because the straps and buckles give the appearance that the toilet is chained or roped shut.
A further limitation of prior art toilet seat restraining devices is that they are difficult to wash because they are formed of leather and metal materials. As can be appreciated, this is problematic because toilet seat restraining devices must be frequently cleaned because of the unsanitary nature of their use.